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A vitamin supplement that improves metabolism in the eye appears to slow down damage to the optic nerve in glaucoma. In glaucoma, the optic nerve is gradually damaged, leading to vision loss and, in the worst cases, blindness. High pressure in the eye drives the disease. Glaucoma researchers have long theorized the substance homocysteine is somehow relevant to understanding the disease. Now, researchers have investigated the role of homocysteine in several ways. In the current study, the researchers discovered that when rats with glaucoma were given elevated levels of homocysteine, their disease did not worsen. The researchers also found that...

Scientists measured the impact of high doses of Vitamin B6 on young adults and found that they reported feeling less anxious and depressed after taking the supplements every day for a month. Dr. David Field, lead author, said: "The functioning of the brain relies on a delicate balance between the excitatory neurons that carry information around and inhibitory ones, which prevent runaway activity. "Vitamin B6 helps the body produce a specific chemical messenger that inhibits impulses in the brain, and our study links this calming effect with reduced anxiety among the participants." While previous studies have produced evidence that multivitamins...

An analysis that included nearly 400,000 participants finds that those with higher blood levels of vitamin B6 and the essential amino acid methionine (found in most protein) had an associated lower risk of lung cancer, including participants who were current or former smokers, according to a study in the June 16 issue of JAMA. Previous research has suggested that defi­ciencies in B vitamins may increase the probability of DNA damage and subse­quent gene mutations. "Given their involvement in maintaining DNA integrity and gene ex­pression, these nutrients have a potentially important role in inhibiting cancer devel­opment, and offer the possibility of...

The FDA has effectively banned a naturally-occurring form of vitamin B6 called pyridoxamine by declaring it to be a drug, reports the American Association for Health Freedom. Responding to a petition filed by a drug company, the FDA declared pyridoxamine to be "a new drug." Now, any nutritional supplements containing pyridoxamine will be considered adulterated and illegal by the FDA, which may raid vitamin companies and seize such products. See the history of FDA raids on vitamin companies here: http://www.naturalnews.com/021791.html Pyridoxamine occurs naturally in fish, chicken and other foods (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_B6), putting the FDA in the strange position of banning a...

Amino acids: Key to a healthier heart? Could taking a few B vitamins cut your risk of a heart attack or a stroke? That's the suggestion from a study published last week in the British Medical Journal (BMJ).  The key is an amino acid called homocysteine, a substance made when the protein we eat is digested — already there is growing evidence to link it with cardiovascular disease, and even stroke. Homocysteine — with the help of the B vitamins including B12 and folate — is rapidly turned into other useful compounds such as the amino acids cysteine and...

High daily levels of vitamin B6 may reduce the risk of getting colon cancer by 58 percent, claims a new study from Harvard Medical School. The research, published in the May 4 issue of the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, builds on other studies that have already indicated a strong preventive effect from the vitamin. "There are several smaller studies that have found a protective effect from dietary intakes of B6," said lead researcher Esther K. Wei, an instructor in medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. However, "this is the first large study of women...

Magnesium VitB6 Intake Reduces Central Nervous System Hyperexcitability in Children Marianne Mousain-Bosc, MD, Michele Roche, PhD, Jean Rapin, MD, PhD and Jean-Pierre Bali, MD, PhD Department of Pediatry (M.M.-B.), CHU Nimes, FRANCEDepartment of Biochemistry (M.R.), CHU Nimes, FRANCELaboratoire de Biochimie, Groupe Hospitalier Carémeau (J.P.B.), Nimes Cedex, FRANCEDepartment of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Bourgogne, Dijon (J.R.), FRANCE Address reprint requests to: Dr. Jean-Pierre Bali, Laboratoire de Biochimie, Groupe Hospitalier Carémeau, Place du Professeur Robert Debré, 30029 Nimes Cedex, FRANCE. E-mail: bali2003@yahoo.frObjective: Ionic magnesium (Mg2+) depletion has long been known to cause hyperexcitability with convulsive seizures in rodents, effects...